• Frances MacLeod has created a daily gratitude list to celebrate all the things she’s thankful for and the best part is that the posts include a combination of illustration, photography and hand-lettering.

It’s no secret that I love theme parks. I’ve been to Disneyland and Disney World a combined total of 8 times and I would go even more often if I could. So when Kat, Gala and I found out that we had Dreamworld passes waiting for us during our first day in Australia, I couldn’t wait to see what the place had in store.

Located on the Gold Coast of Australia, Dreamworld can best be summed up as a cross between Disneyland and Six Flags with a heavy dose of wildlife thrown in the mix!

Our first stop in Dreamworld was an area containing a pack of kangaroos. I was surprised that there were no barriers — we got to walk right up and pet them. I’d never met a kangaroo in real life and had assumed that they’d be aggressive but they were a surprisingly friendly bunch. Just based on the kangaroo meeting, I was already sold on the place. I really didn’t think it could get much better than that…

But, it did. Our next stop included the famous koala cuddle. My face says it all — I was completely in love with Brandy from the first time I laid eyes on her!

Still a baby, once she was handed over, her little claw rested on my shoulder. If I could have stood there all day holding my new koala baby, I would have.

After our soft and cuddly wildlife interactions, we were ready for some action — we started out small with some high-flying kid’s swings and built up our adrenaline from there.

I’m honestly not a huge thrill-seeking junkie and some of these rides were intense! I stuck to a few of the smaller roller coasters but skipped most of the ones that included getting thrown upside-down. That didn’t stop Kat, though!

The hangout area of Dreamworld reminded me a lot of Downtown Disney, just with bolder color schemes. I felt right at home in front of this modern house.

Dreamworld seemed to have something for everyone — adults, kids and animal enthusiasts alike. It’s the only place I’ve ever been to where you can cuddle a koala and 10 minutes later, end up on the scariest roller coaster imaginable!

The Print Revolution explores how fashion designers have put the new technology of digital printing to use. Covering a wide array of designers from new to established, the book catalogs their inspiring results.

Traditionally, silk-screen printing was the standard method of applying patterns onto apparel but it could add substantial cost to the product since each color required a separate screen. Because of this, multi-hued patterns were limited to higher-end collections.

With digital printing, the process works in a similar manner that an inkjet printer would, meaning that the complexity and scale of patterns is now unlimited. It’s pretty amazing to see how this technology has rapidly opened the floodgates for designers of all sizes to apply surface patterns to their apparel.

The Print Revolution was provided courtesy of Gingko Press. All opinions are my own.

I just landed back on U.S. soil after three and a half weeks down under and boy, do I have a lot to share with you!

My main reason for traveling to Australia and New Zealand was to teach four Blogcademy classes alongside Kat and Gala. Our first of the bunch took place in Brisbane. We’d spent a full week leading up to the class exploring Queensland as guests of the tourism and events board and I’ll be honest — after cuddling koalas, ziplining through the rain forest and taking a helicopter ride over the great barrier reef, I was struggling to switch back into work mode. But after arriving at Bleeding Heart, an art gallery by day, I settled in and the excitement of kicking off our first Australian class ever began to build.

I’d designed these totes the month before while sitting on a friend’s couch in LA. A color-blocked kangaroo just seemed like the right fit at the time. Little did I know that I’d come face-to-face with a pack of them on my first full day in Australia!

As we made our way through the crowd during our afternoon activities, I spotted this awesome illustration of Gala by artist Jane Davenport!

During an interview with a magazine a few nights ago, I was asked what stood out the most about teaching classes in Australia. After spending the year traveling the world, I noticed something noticeably different about this crowd — there was a sense of pure excitement when it came to blogging.

Sure, the money component came up at some points but I felt that the audiences put more value on self-expression than earning an income. Blogging in Australia hasn’t hit its peak yet like it has in the U.S. and seeing these women getting fired up about the potential their blogs held really inspired me to remember why I started blogging in the first place.

Our Brisbabes were a colorful bunch and rocked fuzzy koala ears courtesy of the Tourism and Events Queensland — I’d like to think they were an homage to our little friend Brandy.

Our scholarship winner Gabriella was a total sweetheart and won us over with handmade jewelry she gifted us featuring our pets. I can’t wait to start wearing my Rocky necklace.

I especially loved our prize selection this time around because we bought everything from the Bleeding Heart shop featuring local artisans.

Sponsor Shout-out

Our Australian sponsors killed it with an awesome mix of well-designed goodies. Bite Me delivered a tasty batch of perfectly branded cupcakes!

Twinkie Chan’s coffee cozies are always a hit — a lucky contest winner grabbed one of her hand-knitted creations.

A Koala-inspired Class Photo

A class photo taken while decked out in fuzzy koala ears suited our Brisbabes quite well. What a stylish bunch!

Ha, look at those faces! What a weekend. It’s so funny to think back now…Australia was a place I never thought I’d have the opportunity to visit. To say my time down under was life changing is a huge understatement. I’m already jonesin’ for our trip next year covering Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland.

If you’d like to join us for a Blogcademy workshop in 2014, you can sign up right here. I hope to see you on the road!

What a week! I’ve been zipping all over the place for a mix of business and pleasure. Last Friday, I flew into Auckland with Kat and Gala to teach our second Blogcademy class down under and we spent a few nights in this cute Airbnb apartment in the center of the city with a great view of the Sky Tower.

My favorite part of the apartment was this poster in the kitchen. So cool!

We taught our Auckland class at Generator inside Britomart, which we LOVED — it had a built-in library and astroturf floors! Britomart also housed one of the raddest coffee shops in town, Shaky Isles Coffee Co..

The entrance had a vintage mint green cooler and walls were covered in amazing illustrations. Coolest coffee shop decor ever. I so wish they’d set up shop in Portland.

I especially loved this design at the exit.

After our class, we caught a flight over to Wellington to spend a few days with Gala’s parents. Their house isn’t any ordinary house, though. Her mom, Janet is an interior decorating genius and every inch is impeccably thought out, including the kitchen. I went a little crazy over this painting in their living room since it reminded me of Branch. Her dad actually took it off the wall and art directed my favorite Instagram shot ever. By the end, I was begging her parents to adopt me.

During our day off in Wellington, we visited Revive, a great little coffee shop with some of the best treats I’ve ever eaten. I really, really loved the city. It reminded me of all the best parts of Portland — even the weather was eerily similar. It was strange to feel so at home on the other side of the world.

Janet’s decorating style is seriously a feast for the eyeballs. She runs a sleek little boutique called Darling by day and is the sweetest lady — every morning she prepared lattes with extra foam alongside our breakfasts. First class service all the way. I didn’t want it to end!

In a way, wandering the streets of Wellington with all its hip independent boutiques and hanging out in coffee shops reminded me of being a teenager again — I especially loved Fidel’s, a coffee shop with an adorable back patio, turquoise cups and no wifi connection (just like back in the day!) And, check out that brownie. SO GOOD.

The best dining experience I had in Wellington was at Duke Carvell’s. The mix of dramatic decor, crazy good food and awesome company (including Gala’s longtime friend Helen) made it a night to remember.

I honestly didn’t want to leave Wellington but we had one last class to teach back in Melbourne. Thankfully, when we arrived early Wednesday morning, we walked into one of the coolest apartments I’d ever seen.

Tucked away on a hip little side street and full of modern art and piles of fashion and design magazines, it was my idea of heaven.

As I wandered past the corn cob side table and Ghost chair, I noticed that there was also a collection of dog statues.

Last night, we wrapped up our last Blogcademy class of the year and although it was bittersweet, I’m looking forward to having a few months off to work on some new offerings (!!!) Today is our legit day off (no trains, planes or automobiles!) so we’re making the most of exploring Melbourne and soaking up as much of the city as possible before catching our flight to Brisbane in the morning. Have an awesome weekend! xo

• Have you done free work in exchange for “exposure” and no monetary compensation at any point in your career? You’ll love this article. “I’ve been trying to understand the mentality that leads people who wouldn’t ask a stranger to give them a keychain or a Twizzler to ask me to write them a thousand words for nothing.”

Hello! I'm Shauna, the Creative Director of Branch, a boutique design studio. I am also a co-founder of The Blogcademy. This is my lifestyle blog, which has been going strong since 2007. I'm obsessed with shoes, llamas and traveling the world. Read more…

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